Conversations
by Evelyn Thirza
Summary: Snippets of conversations between Hogwarts students that didn't make it into the books. Starting in Half-Blood Prince.
1. In the Common Room

Hermione and Ginny sat alone in the common room late that Friday evening. Ginny, wanting to get away from the library, had chosen to study for her OWLS in a cozier environment, while Hermione poured over her Runes essay. Giving a large yawn, Hermione checked her watch—1 o'clock in the morning, definitely a good time to go to bed. As she started packing away her things, she caught a glance at Ginny, sitting on the floor with her back to the couch, clearly taking a break from studying making a decorative doodle in the form of a snitch.

The sight of the snitch made Hermione remember the quidditch game the next day—and how Harry would be in detention during it.

"You know," started Hermione, "you should probably get some sleep for the game tomorrow."

Ginny turned around vaguely toward her. "Yeah, I suppose you're right," she said, as she continued drawing the snitch.

"It'll be all right without Harry," Hermione said, sensing Ginny's unenthusiasm. "You did well in the games without him all last year."

"Yeah, I know. I guess…" Ginny added an extra embellishment to her snitch as she continued, "…well, nevermind." She gave a huge yawn.

"What's up Ginny?" Hermione inquired. "You can tell me." She thought she knew what was going on. She had observed Harry for half a year paying extra attention to Ginny, and recently, after her breakup with Dean, Ginny was definitely enjoying that attention.

Ginny finally looked up from her drawing, and said, "Well, it's just, I think I like Harry again."

Hermione smiled. "I thought so. I think he likes you, too."

"Really?" Ginny looked like she already knew this, but didn't quite want to admit it.

"Of course!" exclaimed Hermione. "I think he's liked you ever since he saw you kissing Dean. I catch him all the time looking in your direction, and he always laughs at all of your jokes very enthusiastically, and he's barely been separated from you the last couple weeks."

Ginny smiled and blushed, saying, "Yeah, I've noticed a bit of that, too. It's nice to have a second opinion, though. I just thought that us playing the game tomorrow and possibly winning, could, you know," she paused. "Well, I thought it could just move… things along."

Hermione thought about this for a while. She had a point. But Harry wouldn't be in detention all day. "But," Hermione began, "something could still happen. Harry will get back from detention eventually, and if Gryffindor won, we'll probably still be celebrating. You never know." She smiled down at Ginny, hoping this would cheer her up, but instead Ginny was looking intensely at the fire, her eyes narrowed.

"That still leaves one major problem," Ginny said slowly.

"What's that?"

Ginny considered her words for a moment. "My dear…," she said, giving each word emphasis. "… _git… of a brother._" Ginny looked over at Hermione. "You know he could mess things up. He's Harry's best friend. Harry's going to care if he's being a prat."

Hermione did not deny it, for it was perfectly true. There was only one way to do it: Ron had to be prepared. After a few more moments in silence, Hermione said, "I'll talk to Ron. Tomorrow, before the match."

"What? What are you going to say?"

"I know that Ron wouldn't be opposed to you two pairing up if he knew you really liked each other. He knows you have liked Harry in the past, so that won't be hard to get across; I just need to convince him that Harry really likes you, which, really, shouldn't be hard at all."

Ginny smiled half-heartedly, saying, "I think you're giving him a little too much credit, Hermione."

"No really! It's perfectly obvious that Harry likes you." Ginny smiled again at her snitch doodle. "Ron will understand. He'll listen to me." Hermione's voice waivered a bit with her last words. She at least hoped Ron would listen to her.

Ginny seemed to notice the doubt in her voice, and said, "You're right, Hermione. He will. I know you and Ron have had a rocky year, but I think it's just as obvious that Ron really likes you. Both of you just have funny ways of showing it…"

"Possibly," replied Hermione, not sounding convinced, but pretending not to care. "Well, we really should get to bed." And with that she began to picked up her things, and said goodnight to Ginny, who, even though she began putting some of her things away, was still adding embellishments to her snitch as Hermione claimed up the stairs.


	2. Before the Match

The whole morning at breakfast Hermione remained quiet, not sure how to tell Ron what was on her mind. After saying goodbye to Harry before his detention with Snape, Hermione pulled Ron to the side.

"Ron?" she said, "Do you think you have a moment? I need to talk to you about something…" She glanced around to make sure Ginny didn't hear her.

"I've got to get down to the pitch…" said Ron, looking confused. "Will it take long?"

"No, not at all. There's just something I need to _prepare_ you for."

They made their way out of the castle and took a longer, less crowded route to the Quidditch pitch. After a moment or two of silent walking, Hermione stopped by a tree.

"I'm not sure how to start, but…" She began, "Have you noticed how friendly Harry and Ginny have been?"

Ron looked at Hermione with a slightly angry, confused look. "What? They're not together—"

"No!" Hermione interrupted. "But, well, I think Harry likes Ginny," she said very quickly. "I think he's liked her for a few months now."

"Really?" said Ron, startled. "What makes you think that?"

"Oh, small things. He always laughs at her jokes, pays her a lot of attention… Sometimes I catch him staring at her."

Ron looked toward his feet, concentrating hard on what he was hearing. "So, what? Do you think they are going to get together?"

"Possibly. And I think it could be sooner rather than later. They just seem… happy when they are with each other. It makes sense."

"But Harry would talk to me first, right?"

"Ron, he shouldn't have to. I can tell, Harry isn't just wanting to snog Ginny. He really likes her. And I know Ginny likes him, too. You should be happy if they get together."

Looking back at the ground, Ron started to turn slightly red. His brows were furrowed in what Hermione guessed was anger.

"Look," She began, "I know this is hard for you, she's your little sister, and—"

"—it's not that," Ron interrupted. Hermione looked at him very confused, and he went on. "I guess… like you said, Harry and Ginny make sense. Just makes me hate how much of an idiot I was for getting involved with Lavender." He rubbed his face and sat down on a nearby bench. "You should get to know someone well enough before going out with them so you don't end up with a girlfriend who calls you 'Won-Won'. I'm such an idiot."

Hermione didn't quite know what to say. Ron seemed so vulnerable, and that wasn't the best thing before a quidditch match. She sat down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Ron lifted his face up from his hands and looked at Hermione, glancing at her hand with a look of slight shock.

Trying to make the mood lighter, Hermione smiled at Ron, saying, "It's okay, don't be too hard on yourself. In a way, it's better like this. Now you know better for your next relationship."

Ron smiled shyly back at Hermione. "Right, my next relationship. Who knows how long that'll take me to get together."

Hermione didn't respond, but blushed deeply, not sure if she should say what was on her mind. So instead, she kissed Ron on the check, accidentally lingering for just a moment too long for friendly, and stood up, saying, "Well, enough talk. Time for you to win a quidditch match."


	3. After the Match

Harry turned around to face the girl stepping out of the portrait hole. Ginny beamed at him and, taking his hand, started to lead him toward the castle entrance. They walked in silence for a few moments, as Harry was frantically trying to think of something to say. All that was going through his head were snippets of what had just passed. Ginny running towards him, the feel of her lips, the touch of her hand…_Is this even real? _Harry thought.

As if an answer to his inner question, Ginny said, "Almost hard to believe, isn't it?" while glancing at their intertwined hands.

"Yes," Harry said through a smile, grateful that Ginny broke the silence. "And the fact that Ron didn't punch me is a wonder as well."

"Oh, I think Hermione had something to do with that," said Ginny with a smirk.

Harry laughed at this. Of course Hermione knew what was going; she knew everything that was going on. "Very perceptive, that one."

"Oh yes. She reckons you've liked me for a good chunk of the school year. Any truth to that?"

Harry could feel himself start to blush. "Yeah," he replied, trying to keep his grin to just a smirk with little success. "Yeah, it's been about that long."

Harry was relieved to see that Ginny had also broken into a large grin. "That's nice to hear," she responded, giving his hand a little squeeze.

Again they walked in silence until they reached the sunny grounds. Picking a shady tree, they sat down cross-legged next to each other.

"So," Harry began, "You know how long I've liked you, so how long have you liked me?"

Ginny furrowed her eyebrows thoughtfully, before asking, "Like, really liked you, or had a crush on you?"

"Is there a difference?" Harry asked, confused.

"Oh yes," replied Ginny, "there's a difference."

"Okay, how about you tell me both then."

"All right," said Ginny as she began to play with a worm on the ground, "Well, I'm sure you may have noticed my little crush on you in my early years."

Harry could tell she was a little embarrassed by this. "A little bit, yeah," he replied softly.

"Well, that kind of fizzled."

"Oh, right—" began Harry.

"—Not because I didn't like you!" Ginny finished, "but I just grew up—became concentrated on my own group of friends. But, over this past year…"

"…When we became good friends…." Harry smiled largely at Ginny; glad to see she was giving him a grin just as big.

"Yes," she began again, "when we became friends, and Dean was annoying me—"

Harry burst out laughing at this, while Ginny continued as if nothing was abnormal.

"—You started to seem very appealing again, but in a very different way."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, before when I liked you, I liked the famous Harry Potter," said Ginny, pulling herself to full height as if she were a famous person. "But now, I like the real you. Does that make sense?"

Harry felt warmth spread all over him. He looked at Ginny a long time before answering, still trying to wrap his head around how happy he felt with her, how different this felt from being with Cho, and how weird it was that this strong, talented, and attractive girl could ever really like him.

"It makes perfect sense," Harry finally answered.

They sat in silence for a moment longer, laughing at the worm still wriggling in Ginny's hand.

"Here," said Harry, "let's let the worm go find his worm friends…" He placed the worm on the ground, took Ginny's hand, and gently pulled her forward towards him. As their lips met in a soft kiss, Harry's insides squirmed in a way that was equally terrifying and delightful. For the first time in a while, something is his life had finally gone right.


End file.
